We Are Wired To Sew

July 14, 2023

This sounds like a bunch of hooey or worse, that everyone should sew.  Well, I think everyone should at least know how to sew, but whether they do or not is their decision.  Why?  Because it would terrifically improve what the manufacturers, retailers and designers would produce for the consumer.  That alone would elevate our quality of clothing, but it would also be much more economical.  

After watching this little video, my curiosity was piqued.  This sounds a little far-fetched, but actually it's not.  And I've posted about this before.  Watch this:

But really what's this about?  This is more about moving our hands, working with our hands and creating with our brains and our hands.  There apparently is a drug that releases when we do this.  

There's this book that I've also featured here.  It's still a good read.  The author has a doctorate and knows how to write a thesis, but he left that world of academia to do what he really likes which is work on motorcycles - talk about using your hands and motor skills!!!  

Click on the picture for more info.

I've heard this before, but what's even more important is that I've experienced it over and over again.  We all have terrifying times in our lives, and that's just life.  Some say, "Oh gee, it was easy for that person cause they had everything going for them!"  We really don't know, and then there are those that suffer through the most heinous of times that even the 9th Circle of Hell would be a piece of cake.  The blows and outrageous fortune that some have been dealt would break me to shreds, and yet they survive.  Some are even relatively whole after their tormented ordeals.  I can't even imagine.  

But for me, I have my own demons like everyone, and when they rear their head and scare the daylights out of me, all I have to do is sit down and sew.  What in the world is this about?  This absolutely makes no sense.  As a matter of fact the very idea that I'm going to solve a problem - a major problem - right in front of me by avoiding it and doing something entirely different is not only illogical but reeks of avoidance, procrastination, and escapism.  Now, I ask you logically, how is that possibly going to help the problem by walking away?  Seems totally illogical and impractical doesn't it?  But here's the thing.  It works.
 

There is some fascinating research out there (click the photo above to read some great technical scientific info.)  Actually there's a lot of it, but most recently it's about the clear connection or inclusion of hands.  IOW, hands are a key factor in this effort-driven reward cycle.  This is a fancy way of saying that we humans apparently release hormones and naturally-occuring opiates in the body to make us feel good.  Wow!  And it's without calories, and we can still drive after sewing without a DUI!

Here's what I know from my personal experience and watching my students in class.  My health is extraordinarily good.  As a matter of fact, when I was a kid and thought about the millennium, I thought I would be lucky to get past that a couple of years after 2000 and still be living.  Good grief, I'm 23 years past that and still stinking good health.  I've heard of folks being my age and still kicking ass, but I never thought I would be one of them. 

I still walk my dog a mile and a half everyday.  I still get up in the morning with a list of things to do.  I still clean my own home.  I still do my own laundry.  And I'm a weed-wacking witch with my handy-dandy little Black and Decker - the weeds don't have a chance with me and my machine.  
Physically I can just about do anything I want.  I can still get down on the floor to do those hems, although getting up is a little slower.  I'm just glad I can still get up at my age.  My brain seems to think that I'm 30 when I'm sitting on the floor, till I get up from the floor and then I'm 50, and even that's way younger than I really am.  

I look at my family - my sisters and my cousins, and those that are doing something with their hands are as healthy mentally and physically as I am.  Those that are sitting around doing hardly anything are all scrunched up and incapable of moving without a lot of pain.  

Which is another thing.  I know many of my peers and others who get up and have really bad pain, and think the best thing to do is sit down and think about this.  But if you are working on a project which is more like being side-tracked by a project, you think, hmmmm that hurts, oh well, I'll do this and that and think about that later, when suddenly you think back to that pain and think - it's gone. You've literally worked it out by moving around and doing your project.  

Having sewing has not only rescued me from the terrifying events in my life, but it's also seen me through them.  I have done some of my most beautiful work in those terrifying times  - not that I want to do anymore suffering to do beautiful work - thankyouverymuch!  But what it does, is see me through those horrifying events, and when I come through them, (cause we all come through them), I'm just as whole as I was going in.  

This photo is very large, click it to see it larger.

There are so many miraculous parts of sewing and the hand work that we do, that it's good to remind ourselves every once in a while, that our handwork and sewing does matter and it does make a difference in our life.  This quilt was made in 1937 by Walt's grandmother and her friends.  They had a quilt club in a small farming city in the panhandle of Oklahoma.  This was during the worst years of the Dust Bowl.  The first time I saw this quilt, I was so touched to think of the hours that the hands of these ladies spent making this quilt, and how it most likely kept many of them sane by talking with each other, laughing and comforting each other.  Most of all they were a support for each other while the wind would blow their seeds away using their last dollars they had, or watching their crops wither in the dry soil with no rain.  Their disposition and stamina had to be beat up and mangled.  But they stayed, and these are the farmers today that feed the country and the world.  

Next time you think that sewing is just for fun, or as a cute little past time, remember you are not only lengthening your life, but you are making those hours you sew fill your brain and system with the good feelings that make your present better, but your future even better.  I mean we'd all like to live long, but to live long and be active and as sassy as we were in our 30s would be the best way to live longer.  Sewing, working with your hands, and using your minds, preserves not only our good sense, but makes us a much happier and satisfied person.

The SewingArtistry Resource Library is designed to contain information to not only make your sewing better, but to aid in you fitting and flattering your shape, size and style.  Check it out. 

The Ponte Jacket Class has been rescheduled.  We had so many who wanted to take it but couldn't get here for one reason or another so it didn't work out.  We've rescheduled it for September, when we are more interest in jackets, and particularly something that will make us look professional and responsible -- because there are times when we need that look.  You can click here to get more information for the class on September 20, 21, and 22.  If you need any information about places to stay or other accommodations, simply respond to this email and I will get back to you.  I love my city and love showing it off!

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